


Out of the Woods

by barbitone



Series: Merlin Fanfiction [8]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Play, Anal Sex, Art AU, Artist AU, Blow Jobs, Bottom Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Butt Plugs, Dirty Talk, Established Relationship, Figure Drawing, Fluff and Smut, Light Bondage, M/M, Modern Era AU, Multiple Orgasms, Orgasm Control, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Praise Kink, Professor!Merlin, Sex Toys, Top Merlin, University AU, artist!Merlin, but like nice, terms of endearment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 16:32:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16067009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone
Summary: Even after three years, Merlin still couldn’t quite believe how fucking perfect Arthur was. No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t get enough of painting his gold hair, his sharp hips, the way his skin flushed and light caressed his muscled body.Sequel toInto Cézanne’s Arms/Into Cézanne’s Arms [Remix]





	Out of the Woods

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Into Cézanne’s Arms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16057025) by [barbitone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone). 



> Very smut-forward semi-sequel to [Into Cézanne’s Arms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16057025)
> 
> I'd say go read that first but tbh I doubt it matters, this is shameless smut with a bit of fluff tacked on to the end. Written and posted in about a day, so if you see a typo- don't tell me!
> 
> Not that it matters, but three years have passed since Cézanne. Arthur finished his review and made the recommendation to lower Coach Agravaine's salary, which Uther ignored. Agravaine was later fired in the midst of a cheating scandal that took Uther down, too. Now Arthur is doing some consulting work for the University and is on track to join the board of directors as treasurer. He and Merlin have been dating the whole time.
> 
> P.S. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but generally a figure drawing session lasts about three hours

“Come on, darling,” Merlin murmured. “You can do a little better than that.”

Arthur exhaled sharply and tensed where he lay naked on the couch, trying to still the helpless little jerks his hips were making as the vibrating butt plug pulsed rhythmically inside him, pressed up against his prostate. His hands were tied together over his head with a silk scarf, the end of it anchored to the leg of the couch. Merlin had learned the last few times they’d tried this that Arthur couldn’t control himself, no matter how adamant he was that _this time_ , he’d be fine. Inevitably, forty minutes in like clockwork, Arthur would end up reaching down to touch himself and cut their session short. Not today.

Merlin grinned as he watched Arthur trying and failing to calm himself down, breath coming out in shuddering gasps as he quivered, trying not to move as best he could. 

“Merlin, please-” Arthur begged. “I can’t-”

“You can,” Merlin promised him, watching his impossibly hard cock bobbing against his abs. “You can do it, for me.”

“Oh, fuck,” Arthur breathed, not really paying attention to Merlin anymore as he turned his head away and tried to shift, push down against the plug.

“Do you want me to turn it off for a few minutes?” Merlin asked, “Give you a little break?”

“No!” Arthur said, indignant. “Fuck-” He threw his head back, panting.

“Alright,” Merlin said. “Then you only have twenty minutes more.”  
  
“Oh god,” Arthur bit out. 

“Stay still for me, love,” Merlin said and turned his attention back to his canvas.

Arthur’s moans were loud in his ears, making Merlin flush and shift uncomfortably on his stool. He allowed himself one quick press to his cock through his jeans and then resumed working, swiping thick paint over the canvas. 

Even after three years, he still couldn’t quite believe how fucking _perfect_ Arthur was. No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t get enough of painting his gold hair, his sharp hips, the way his skin flushed and light caressed his muscled body.

He glanced at the clock, it had been almost an hour.

“It’s time, darling, are you ready?”

“Oh fuck,” Arthur breathed, his cock jumping at Merlin’s words. “Yeah- yeah, Merlin, _please_.”

Merlin reached for the remote on his table, turned the plug up to a higher setting and watched Arthur cry out, moan and writhe against the onslaught. He squeezed his cock through his jeans as he stared at Arthur shaking apart, moans turning to hitching gasps until his dick twitched and he was coming. Merlin turned off the plug, giving Arthur a few minutes to catch his breath. 

“Let me know when you’re ready to continue,” he said.

Arthur shut his eyes and licked his lips nervously, still shaking from his orgasm. Merlin kept his eye on the clock, waiting as five minutes slowly ticked towards ten.

“Ok,” Arthur whispered at last, and Merlin switched the plug back on, setting it to the lowest setting.

Arthur jerked and shuddered anyway, so sensitive now that even that little was nearly too much for him. 

“Easy, love,” Merlin said. “We still have a long way to go.”

Arthur bit his lip, desperately trying to stay still, trying to be good for him.

“That’s it,” Merlin said, encouraging him. “Just try and relax.”

Arthur didn’t answer. He tensed his hands against the scarf, shifted a bit to spread his thighs a little wider.

“Alright?” Merlin asked.

“Yeah,” Arthur said, eyes screwed shut.

He managed to wait stoically for another half an hour, and then he gasped sharply and started thrusting his hips against the couch, trying to drive the plug deeper in a desperate search for more stimulation.

“Merlin, please!” he gasped. “Please, I can’t wait anymore! I need you- I need you to touch me, to fuck me. Please, just- just come here.”  
  
Merlin turned off the plug and had to shut his eyes and press his hand to his cock while he listened to Arthur whine in frustration. 

“You know that won’t work on me, love,” he said, trying to keep his voice even in an attempt not to betray how much it was working on him. Arthur liked it when he was firm and a little withholding, in control. “I need you to stay still for me, darling, we’re just about halfway there now.”

Arthur was taking deep shuddering breaths, almost sobbing as his hands flexed against the scarf. “Please,” he whispered.

“If you’re good for me, I’ll suck you off when it’s time,” Merlin promised.

“Oh god-” Arthur gasped out. He keened when Merlin turned the plug back on, shaking as Merlin turned it up nearly all the way, then fell back against the sofa, defeated, when Merlin switched it back down.

He powered through for another half hour, fists clenched and his entire body shaking as he did his best to stay still. When it was time Merlin shut off the plug, left the remote on the table as he walked closer and dropped to the sofa, curling down over Arthur to take his cock into his mouth.

Arthur whined and jerked up against him, but Merlin was holding him tight by the hips, pressing him down into the cushions.

“Oh- you’re so-” Arthur breathed as Merlin pulled back, licked him leisurely. Arthur seemed calmer now that he felt he had Merlin’s full attention, but all it took was Merlin gripping the plug, pulling it out fully and pushing it back in just once, and Arthur’s composure shattered. He was a shivering mess as Merlin sucked him down, rubbed at the delicate skin behind his balls.

“Fuck!” Arthur cried out, trying to thrust up into him while Merlin held him down easily. He sped up, shifting to rub his dick against the couch as he worked Arthur’s cock, heat spiking through him with every one of Arthur’s bit-off moans.

“Merlin- Merlin!” Arthur cried out and came, twitching. Merlin sucked him for a bit longer, not giving him any escape from the stimulation while Arthur shuddered and tried to shift away, not coherent enough for words.

Finally Merlin pulled back, pressed a hand against the front of his pants. He wasn’t made of stone, he wanted to come just as badly as Arthur did. He just had a little more self control, was willing to wait when he knew it was going to pay off. He left Arthur to catch his breath while he grabbed a glass of water from his desk, brought it back to the couch. 

“Here,” he murmured, holding the back of Arthur’s neck up as he brought the glass to his lips. “Settle down a bit, rest a little before we finish up.” 

Arthur drank greedily, and it was only through sheer force of will that Merlin managed to keep his hands steady as he watched Arthur’s throat working, his chest heaving.

“Thank you,” Arthur whispered once he was finished.

“Alright?” Merlin asked, running a cool hand down Arthur’s chest just to watch him shiver.

“Yes.” 

“We’re so close now,” Merlin whispered against Arthur’s ear. “We’re nearly there. Just a little more, just another hour.”

“I don’t think I can-”

“Of course you can,” Merlin reassured him softly, smoothing his hands down Arthur’s chest, his thighs. “You can do it for me. I’m going to give you five more minutes, and then we’re going to start again.”

“Ok,” Arthur breathed out, turning away to hide his flushed face against his arm.

Merlin stood and walked back to his easel, got himself settled on his stool. True to his word, he waited until the five minutes were up, and then he reached for the remote and turned the plug back on.

Arthur arched his back with a whine, his body a tight bow, and then he fell back against the couch. His gasps were nearly soundless, almost pained.

“Are you alright, darling?” Merlin asked.

“Oh fuck,” Arthur clenched his hands into fists. “Shut _up_ ,” he said through gritted teeth.

Merlin laughed and went back to work. By that point he wasn’t really accomplishing much, his hands were shaking and his vision was blurred with arousal. He wasn’t really painting, instead he was watching the clock, watching Arthur. Suddenly Merlin realized he was touching himself over his jeans, massaging his cock, had been for- he didn’t know how long. 

“Come on, Merlin,” Arthur said, voice low and hoarse. He was smiling up at him seductively, and how he managed that after two orgasms and- Merlin checked the clock- twenty minutes of the vibrating plug he didn’t know. By all rights he should have been too fucked out to string together more than two words but he stretched out, flexed like he knew Merlin liked. “You know you don’t want to wait anymore. You want me, come on. Come here.”

Merlin gripped his cock tighter despite himself, shivering. 

“Merlin, _please_ ,” Arthur breathed out. He stared wide-eyed as Merlin reached for the remote and turned up the plug. “Ah!” Arthur cried out, loud and unrestrained, his whole body seizing against it. Merlin smiled and stood. Fuck it. Fuck the clock, fuck the plan. Arthur was right- he wanted him, and he didn’t want to wait anymore.

He pulled open his fly as he walked over, pulled his dick out of his pants. He settled himself between Arthur’s thighs and poured lube over his cock before pulling out the plug and lining himself up, sliding in with one smooth move. 

Arthur cried out, trying to get closer to him, and Merlin sighed in relief at the pressure and heat around his cock- _finally_. He thrust in a few times restlessly before stilling and taking a deep breath. He shifted, reveling in Arthur’s gasps as he shoved his legs into a better position, opening him up and tilting his hips up, and the next time Merlin slid inside Arthur sobbed and gasped as Merlin hit his prostate.

“Is this what you wanted?” Merlin gasped out, moving slowly, rhythmically. 

“Yes,” Arthur sobbed out. “Yes, please- Please, touch me.”

“Not yet,” Merlin whispered, folding over him and shutting his eyes. Arthur was so tight around him, so impossibly hot. He had to focus to hold back his orgasm, to try and get himself together enough to figure out what he was even doing with his hands. 

“Untie me,” Arthur was whispering, “I want to touch you. Please, just let me-”

“No,” Merlin said. He could barely hold it together as it was, if Arthur was touching him too, he’d be gone in a second.

Arthur shuddered at the refusal, frustrated. The frustration faded away as Merlin kept moving inside him, thrusting into him just right.

“That’s it, darling,” Merlin whispered into the damp skin of Arthur’s neck, “that’s it. Do you feel me?”

“Fuck-” Arthur gasped. “Yeah, I- you- _fuck_.”  
  
Merlin smirked and sped up, got himself together enough to wrap his hand around Arthur’s cock. Arthur gasped, nearly choking as he strained up against him, into him. 

“Don’t stop-!” he begged, trying to twist into Merlin’s touch. 

“I wouldn’t do that to you, darling,” Merlin whispered. He was so close, just on the edge, but he wanted Arthur to come first, wanted to feel him. “You’re so beautiful,” he said, pitching his voice low, picking the words he knew spiked heat through Arthur’s cock. “Look at you,” he said, gratified by the way Arthur started shaking harder, the way he arched up into him. “You’re so beautiful like this, so perfect. I bet you could come just from me saying it, couldn’t you?” 

“Merlin-!” Arthur breathed out.

“I know you’re tired, darling, but you’re so close, you’re almost there. Come on, Arthur, come for me, love.”

Arthur made a sound like a strangled gasp, and then he was coming and Merlin let himself tip over the edge, breathing hard against Arthur’s chest, shaking.

“Holy shit,” Arthur whispered after a long moment and Merlin smiled, pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Arthur’s sweat slick skin. He reached up to pull open the knot of the scarf and Arthur groaned as he brought his hands down to wrap around Merlin’s back.

“Alright?” Merlin asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah,” Arthur said with a shaky laugh.

Merlin pulled away from him regretfully. “Why don’t you rest while I clean up. We should get going soon. Are you cold?”

“I’m fine,” Arthur said, but he was shivering.

Merlin stripped off his flannel and draped it over Arthur’s hips before he moved to tidy up. He pulled on his boots before slipping out, still in just his black tank top and jeans, to start preheating the truck, shivering as he crunched through two inches of snow. It was coming down harder now, snowflakes landing on his bare shoulders and melting into droplets that trailed down his arms.

Arthur hadn’t moved a muscle by the time Merlin returned to his office, but he watched through his lashes as Merlin stepped up on a chair to cover the large painting hanging on the wall by the door with a dark velvet blanket.

“Why don’t you just bring that thing home?” Arthur asked. 

Merlin shrugged, pausing a little to run his eyes over the contours of Arthur’s body in the painting from their first meeting. He smiled and threw the blanket over it, hiding it from view.

“I like it here,” he said. “I like keeping you close.”

“That is the sappiest thing I have ever heard,” Arthur said, but he was blushing.

As Merlin went to put away the lube and the plug, his eyes narrowed and he held it up instead. “Hey,” he said, smirking, “wanna wear this for the ride home?”

Arthur snorted and looked away. “Yeah, it’ll be a naughty little surprise for the paramedics that have to come rescue us when we slide off the road into a ditch.”

“It’s not that bad out there,” Merlin said, putting the thing away. It was just as well, he’d need to focus on the road anyway. “Come on, you should get dressed.”

“I can’t move,” Arthur said. “My body’s like one big noodle. You’ve broken me.”

Merlin laughed. “Ok, hold on.” Arthur had come to the studio in his characteristic suit, but getting him buttoned back into it in his current limp state would be a nightmare. Merlin went over to a cabinet where he kept extra clothes for just this situation and came back to the couch with a plain white t-shirt and soft sweatpants. He got the pants on Arthur while he was still lying down, and then helped him sit up on the couch before getting him into the shirt. 

Arthur was looking up at him, still a little dazed and adorably ruffled. Merlin couldn’t help himself, he leaned down to press a quick kiss to Arthur’s soft lips. 

“I think I’ve got slippers or something around here somewhere,” Merlin muttered, and- yeah, there they were, a comfy pair of fur-lined loafers under the couch. He knelt to grab them and helped Arthur slip his feet inside.

“Alright,” Merlin muttered, looking around the room, but that was it. Everything was taken care of. “I’m not carrying you to the car, so you’d better figure out how your legs work.”

Arthur stood with a groan and wobbled a little, reaching out to steady himself on Merlin’s shoulder. “I’m fine, we should go.”

“Ok.” Merlin pulled on his coat before helping Arthur with his own and grabbing their bags.

“Hell,” Arthur cursed, shivering as they stepped out of the studio. “This is your definition of not so bad?”

“It’s just a little weather,” Merlin said, taking Arthur’s hand as they walked to the truck. 

“Rain is weather. _Fog_ is weather. Snow is fucked up,” Arthur muttered. Merlin kept his hand on Arthur’s lower back as he climbed up into the passenger seat and carefully shut the door behind him. He flipped the keys over in his hand a few times as he jogged to the driver’s side, practically whistling with how impossibly, completely happy he was.

Arthur was struggling with his seat belt and Merlin took over for him, snapping it shut decisively.

“Maybe we should just stay here and wait it out,” Arthur said, watching the snow nervously.

Merlin laughed. “No way. I’m not getting snowed in at the studio. What are we going to eat? Whiskey and stale crackers? Fuck that. We’re going home where we have roast beef in the slow cooker and opening a nice bottle of wine. Maybe we’ll make s’mores, too, I haven’t decided.” 

Merlin put the car in drive and took them down the forest path, out towards the main road. The snow was slippery, higher than two inches now. A deer ran across the path in front of them and Merlin slammed the brakes, wincing as the wheel of the car seized up and the anti-lock brakes engaged as they slid forward a few feet.

“Holy hell,” Arthur whimpered, throwing out his hand to grip Merlin’s shoulder. “Stop the car,” he said, fumbling for something in his pocket.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Merlin tried reassuring him. “Baby, we’re fine. It’s just bad here, when we get out to the main road-”

“Stop the car,” Arthur repeated.

Merlin stopped, put the truck in park. “It’s going to be ok, I promise,” he said, turning to Arthur.

“No, that’s not what-” Arthur broke off, took a deep breath. “Merlin,” he said in a serious tone of voice that almost had Merlin worried. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” Merlin said, not quite getting where he was going with this.

“If we die tonight-”

“We’re not going to _die_ -”

“Merlin!” Arthur cut him off. “If we die tonight, I don’t want it to be before I- before I-” he winced, nervous. “Sorry, I thought this would be smoother, but I guess I’m-” he pulled his hand out of his pocket. He was holding a small velvet box.

“Holy shit,” Merlin said, wide eyed. 

“Merlin, will you marry me?” Arthur asked.

“Holy shit!” 

Arthur frowned. “Is that- is that yes?”

“Yes, of course, oh my god, Arthur!” Merlin reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out the ring box he’d been carrying around for the past year. 

Arthur grinned and yanked him in for a slick kiss, moaning into his mouth and sinking his hands into Merlin’s hair. Merlin smiled against his lips and pulled back, laughing. They stared at each other in the darkness and Merlin turned on the cabin light before they exchanged rings.

“It’s beautiful,” Arthur said, staring at the wide rose-gold band, the center studded with tiny diamonds. He blushed. “The ring I got you is simple, I thought you’d like it, but- but if you wanted to exchange it-”

“No, it’s perfect,” Merlin said. The ring _was_ simple, a band of rose gold and a band of white gold, curled together elegantly like an ocean wave. It was exactly what he would have picked for himself and he suddenly felt understood, _known_ deeply. “Arthur,” he whispered, looking up.

“Yeah?” Arthur asked, smiling.

They kissed again, jerked apart when they heard something heavy fall on the roof, a clump of snow shaken loose from an above branch. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Merlin said, turning his eyes back to the road.

“Just- carefully,” Arthur said, that pinched nervous expression returning.

Merlin scoffed. “I'm always careful. We’re not going to die today, not before the wedding!”

“Alright,” Arthur said with a nervous laugh.

“Trust me,” Merlin said, grinning over at him.

Arthur closed his eyes, a soft smile playing over his lips. “I do.”

  


_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at [barbitone](http://barbitone.tumblr.com/) \- NSFW art at [barbitone-afterdark](https://barbitone-afterdark.tumblr.com/)


End file.
